سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْعَامِ
Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 59
۞ وَعِندَهُۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۚ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿59﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but he knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
۞ وَعِندَهُۥ
waʿindahu
And with Him
مَفَاتِحُ
mafātiḥu
(are the) keys
ٱلْغَيْبِ
l-ghaybi
(of) the unseen
لَا
lā
no (one)
يَعْلَمُهَآ
yaʿlamuhā
knows them
إِلَّا
illā
except
هُوَ ۚ
huwa
Him
وَيَعْلَمُ
wayaʿlamu
And He knows
مَا
mā
what
فِى
fī
(is) in
ٱلْبَرِّ
l-bari
the land
وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۚ
wal-baḥri
and in the sea
وَمَا
wamā
And not
تَسْقُطُ
tasquṭu
falls
مِن
min
of
وَرَقَةٍ
waraqatin
any leaf
إِلَّا
illā
but
يَعْلَمُهَا
yaʿlamuhā
He knows it
وَلَا
walā
And not
حَبَّةٍۢ
ḥabbatin
a grain
فِى
fī
in
ظُلُمَـٰتِ
ẓulumāti
the darkness[es]
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
(of) the earth
وَلَا
walā
and not
رَطْبٍۢ
raṭbin
moist
وَلَا
walā
and not
يَابِسٍ
yābisin
dry
إِلَّا
illā
but
فِى
fī
(is) in
كِتَـٰبٍۢ
kitābin
a Record
مُّبِينٍۢ
mubīnin
Clear
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
59. And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. He knows whatever is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf falls but He knows it, nor is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but it is (all) in a clear Book [64].
[63]
Those Who Tell the Unseen News:
When I speak about the punishment coming upon the wrongdoers, I do so based on divine revelation. As for when that punishment will come, I have no knowledge of it except if Allah informs me of it, because all the means and sources of the unseen are solely in His control, which no one besides Him can know. And if anyone claims to know the unseen, he is a liar and a denier of this attribute of Allah. And whoever affirms or believes in someone who claims to tell the unseen is equally guilty, as the following hadiths testify:
1. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever goes to an 'Arraf (a teller of the unseen) and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days." [مسلم۔ باب السلام۔ باب تحريم الكهانة و اتيان الكهان]
2. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever goes to a Kahin (soothsayer) and asks him about something, then affirms what he says, he has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ." [ابو داؤد باب الكهانت والتفسير۔ باب النهي عن اتيان الكهان]
3. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "The astrologer is a soothsayer, and the soothsayer is a magician, and the magician is a disbeliever." [بخاري كتاب المناقب۔ باب ايام الجاهلية]
4. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The keys of the unseen are five, which only Allah knows: (that is) when the Hour will come, He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs (the changes and developments). No one knows what he will do tomorrow, nor does he know in which land he will die. Allah alone is the Knower and Aware of these things." [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
The Vastness of Allah's Knowledge:
From this verse, it is understood that all the knowledge of the unseen is sealed and locked in the form of treasures at a specific place, and the keys to these locks are only with Allah. At this very place, the measures of everything have already been written by Allah. In the Quran, this place is sometimes called the Preserved Tablet (Lawh Mahfuz) [85: 22], sometimes the Mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitab) [43: 4], sometimes the Clear Record (Imam Mubin) [26: 127], sometimes the Hidden Book (Kitab Maknoon) [56: 78], and sometimes the Clear Book (Kitab Mubin), and all these are descriptive names for this place or the treasures of the unseen. No one except the Owner of these treasures, the True and Glorious, can reach these treasures. In other words, these written measures are the origin or starting point of all creatures. Then, to make the vastness of these treasures understandable to common people, some aspects of it have been highlighted. For example, Allah alone knows all things on land and in the seas. On land, there are forests, settlements, mountains, caves, countless trees and herbs, innumerable creatures, animals, and humans. And the creatures of the seas are even more numerous than these. This relates to Allah's general knowledge, and in detail, He has individual knowledge even of the leaves of a tree—how they are growing and when they will fall from their tree. Similarly, He knows every single grain that is produced from the earth. Moreover, He knows even the hidden things inside the earth. Then, He also knows what has happened in the universe so far and what is going to happen in the future, and He has detailed knowledge of these things, not just general knowledge. In other words, the Clear Book or the Preserved Tablet is such a luminous tablet on which the map of the universe has been drawn from eternity. According to it, events are taking place in this world, according to it, this world will end, and then the Day of Resurrection will be established.
[64]
Written Destiny:
Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As رضي الله عنهما says that I heard the Prophet ﷺ say: "Allah wrote the destinies of the creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, and His Throne was upon the water." [ مسلم۔ كتاب القدر۔ باب حجاج آدم و موسيٰؑ]
[63]
Those Who Tell the Unseen News:
When I speak about the punishment coming upon the wrongdoers, I do so based on divine revelation. As for when that punishment will come, I have no knowledge of it except if Allah informs me of it, because all the means and sources of the unseen are solely in His control, which no one besides Him can know. And if anyone claims to know the unseen, he is a liar and a denier of this attribute of Allah. And whoever affirms or believes in someone who claims to tell the unseen is equally guilty, as the following hadiths testify:
1. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever goes to an 'Arraf (a teller of the unseen) and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days." [مسلم۔ باب السلام۔ باب تحريم الكهانة و اتيان الكهان]
2. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever goes to a Kahin (soothsayer) and asks him about something, then affirms what he says, he has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ." [ابو داؤد باب الكهانت والتفسير۔ باب النهي عن اتيان الكهان]
3. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "The astrologer is a soothsayer, and the soothsayer is a magician, and the magician is a disbeliever." [بخاري كتاب المناقب۔ باب ايام الجاهلية]
4. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The keys of the unseen are five, which only Allah knows: (that is) when the Hour will come, He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs (the changes and developments). No one knows what he will do tomorrow, nor does he know in which land he will die. Allah alone is the Knower and Aware of these things." [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
The Vastness of Allah's Knowledge:
From this verse, it is understood that all the knowledge of the unseen is sealed and locked in the form of treasures at a specific place, and the keys to these locks are only with Allah. At this very place, the measures of everything have already been written by Allah. In the Quran, this place is sometimes called the Preserved Tablet (Lawh Mahfuz) [85: 22], sometimes the Mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitab) [43: 4], sometimes the Clear Record (Imam Mubin) [26: 127], sometimes the Hidden Book (Kitab Maknoon) [56: 78], and sometimes the Clear Book (Kitab Mubin), and all these are descriptive names for this place or the treasures of the unseen. No one except the Owner of these treasures, the True and Glorious, can reach these treasures. In other words, these written measures are the origin or starting point of all creatures. Then, to make the vastness of these treasures understandable to common people, some aspects of it have been highlighted. For example, Allah alone knows all things on land and in the seas. On land, there are forests, settlements, mountains, caves, countless trees and herbs, innumerable creatures, animals, and humans. And the creatures of the seas are even more numerous than these. This relates to Allah's general knowledge, and in detail, He has individual knowledge even of the leaves of a tree—how they are growing and when they will fall from their tree. Similarly, He knows every single grain that is produced from the earth. Moreover, He knows even the hidden things inside the earth. Then, He also knows what has happened in the universe so far and what is going to happen in the future, and He has detailed knowledge of these things, not just general knowledge. In other words, the Clear Book or the Preserved Tablet is such a luminous tablet on which the map of the universe has been drawn from eternity. According to it, events are taking place in this world, according to it, this world will end, and then the Day of Resurrection will be established.
[64]
Written Destiny:
Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As رضي الله عنهما says that I heard the Prophet ﷺ say: "Allah wrote the destinies of the creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, and His Throne was upon the water." [ مسلم۔ كتاب القدر۔ باب حجاج آدم و موسيٰؑ]
